It's been almost three years (December, 2017) since I posted and wanted to give you all an update on where things ended up since you fellers were so helpful. As a summary of my initial post - was planning on building a new home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Originally from the Chicago area and lived with cast iron baseboard heat my entire life and wanted the same for the new home.
Here's the update. In early 2018, I came to the realization that building what I wanted was coming in way over my budget. At the same time, an existing home (about 30 years old) came on the market with the square footage and floor plan that met my requirements, even though it needed plenty of updating. I ended up buying that home and selling my vacant lot.
That wasn't the end of the heating story, however. The original part of the house was built with electric heat (!) with resistance baseboards and separate thermostats in each room. A great room addition only had a propane fireplace for heat. At some point in the past, a botched up propane forced air system was installed. While I hadn't yet moved into the house due to the remodeling, I did spend some time in the house during colder weather in 2018. The heating situation was a disaster. Parts of the house were pleasant while others were cold. Supplementing the forced air system with the electric baseboard - for only a couple of weeks, in one room - resulted in a $600 electric bill one month.
I knew when I bought the place that I'd want to rip out the electric baseboards and the forced air system and install hot water heat. When it came down to it though, cast iron baseboard and in-floor heat were both just too expensive. So, I went with fin tube baseboard. The other aspect of the house that complicated matters is that it's a multi-level/split-level, with a stress on MULTI. The living area is on 4 different levels. Even the basement is on 2 levels. Each of the three bedrooms has vastly different exposures, resulting in quite a temperature swing between them, even in summer. I therefore specified separate zones in each bedroom, ending up with a 7 zone system and an 8th zone for the indirect hot water tank (house originally had an electric hot water tank). The job also included piping the house for natural gas and a new laundry room in a different location than the original.
I was kind of worried regarding the lack of choices when it came to plumbing contractors. Also, given the rural area, it's not really possible to specify brands - one must go with what the contractor uses, if for no other reason, to ensure repairs are possible in a timely manner . I used the company recommended by my general contractor (who was doing the remodeling). Although jobs move slowly up here, I have to say it turned out well. I moved in permanently in the summer of 2019. The comfort level in the house during the 2019-2020 winter was a million times better. I'm totally satisfied with the way it turned out. All the rooms are heated evenly without any hot or cold spots and the system kept up without a problem during even the coldest weather. I received a very pleasant surprise with the gas bill after the first cold month. It was approximately the same as it cost to heat my Chicago home which was half the size. I have no regrets going with this system and the fin tube baseboard.
Anyway, that's my update.
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